NBC’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is one of this season’s most high-profile shows, yet its audience has dropped by nearly half since its September premiere. ABC’s Men in Trees is averaging 7million viewers and finishes third in its time slot.
Yet both shows were extended for full seasons late last week in a strange TV season that has seen a couple of breakout hits but plenty of other series that are still sticking around despite middling ratings.
“We’re trying to be patient,” ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson says. “Creatively, everyone feels, across the networks, that this crop of freshman shows is strong.”
Networks typically order 13 episodes of new series in May, then wait to see how they perform before committing to the additional nine episodes required for a full season.
